AMain BlogJust another Multisite site2015-07-31T19:07:37Zhttp://blog.amain.com/feed/atom/WordPressjasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=101582015-07-31T19:07:37Z2015-07-31T18:39:34ZBy: Anthony Ferretti To put things in perspective, I had marked this stage race on my calendar since last Fall. It was going to be one of the biggest races of my season. Since it was a Category 2 only stage race, I wanted to capitalize on this opportunity for success. I participated last year but […]

To put things in perspective, I had marked this stage race on my calendar since last Fall. It was going to be one of the biggest races of my season. Since it was a Category 2 only stage race, I wanted to capitalize on this opportunity for success. I participated last year but didn’t do very well due to poor fitness and lack of experience.

My goals going into Cascade were the following:
1. Focus on everything I did wrong last year and do the opposite.

2. Put up a good TT time, averaging at least 28mph.

3. Make it up the final climb of the road race in the main group

4. Race the criterium confidently and put someone on the podium.

5. Not get dropped in the circuit race, lag climb and conserve energy for the final climbs.

Stage 1: 16 mile TT.
I arrived at the starting line well warmed up, feeling calm and prepared. Aero to the max, I was the third rider to go out, but that didn’t bother me as I knew I’d be pacing myself well. On the way out it was a tailwind with a slight incline. I caught my 30 second man before the turn around and ramped it up full gear on the way back. It wasn’t long before I caught up with my minute man and drilled it all the way to the finish. My time was 34:34 – the 11th best time of the day. I hit my 28mph mark with a 28.1 mph average.
This was the best TT in the history of my TT’s. Great way to start off the stage race.

A late, 1:30PM start gave me plenty of time to show up rested and prepared for the 96 mile road race. After an initial climb, we spent the majority of the race descending and ripping around the scenic Cascade lakes and mountainous area. I moved freely within the pack, hardly putting any effort into the race until the final 15 miles. Meanwhile, my team mates kept the day-long break in check. Brennan successfully brought the over 3 minute gap down to nothing as we caught the break at the base of the climb. At this point, I moved forward and maintained great positioning as we ascended back to the Mt. Bachelor ski resort. Riders launched attacks now and then, but the overall pace wasn’t that bad. If it were a Pro/1/2 race we would have had attacks on top of a grueling 400+ watt climb. But due to the weak field and headwinds, it was relatively easy to sit in and follow wheels. Things got tough at 5K to go, but I managed to stay with the main group all the way up to the finish. There were about 15 of us at this point and I began to realize this could be MY race, I quite possibly had the best legs out of this whole group.
Right before we took a left hand turn into the parking lot, a lone rider launched an attack that nobody followed. I waited, not wanting to drag the riders with me, and right as we turned left I drilled it trying to create a gap and bring back the rider out front. A few riders clung to my wheel, but I saw out of the corner of my eye the 200m sign and launched one last, massive, final attack and secured a 2nd place finish for the day. It was rad!

Stage 3: Crit
Having realized how weak the field was, it was time to make the crit either really hard or race it confidently and win with ease. The game plan was to get Brennan on the podium. The crit was only 50 minutes, just enough time for a break to last. Not long enough to wear the field out.

After a call up, which I was thankful for since I arrived later than desired to the start line, the race was off to a fast start. I followed wheels and chased down anything that went up the road. After an early prime lap, a group of four rolled off the front. It wasn’t a threat and the field wasn’t in any condition to reel it back. Unfortunately this break grew a sizable lead within a few laps. Far enough up the road that bridging would be impossible and bringing it back would take more than an individual effort. Many teams rode the front as if they had a rider in the break when they really didn’t. It was really embarrassing for them. I decided it wasn’t going to come back on its own since the field was clearly not going to bring it back. By the time I started making headway, the break had about 25 seconds and lap cards came out. 10 to go. This is not looking good for Brennan and I. I had to keep trying. I launched a few attacks off the front to try and get the field to react. After spending the last ten laps on or near the front, the break came back to about 5-10 seconds. On the last lap Brennan found my wheel and I punched it up the right side with a half lap to go. It was a race for the corner, since whoever made it through first would win the sprint. With Brennan on my wheel I drilled it all the way through turn three and four. He came around my wheel to win the field sprint and take fourth and I hung on for 6th. Not bad. Didn’t bring the break back, but we’ll take winning the field sprint.

Stage 4: Circuit Race.

Last stage! All I wanted to do was A) not lose any time on GC, and B) go for a top 10 finish.

First three laps were chill and I didn’t bother wasting any energy on climbs or by chasing moves down. I knew it would come down to a bunch sprint. What I didn’t count on was two riders managing to ride away from the rather large field on lap 4. I expected Team Oregon or some other team to do the work to bring it back. They didn’t. I found myself on the right wheel over the last climb right before 1K to go. It was go-time! We bombed down the hill and hit a left hand turn into an uphill sprint finish. I led it out and mis-paced the climb. Once two riders passed me, I jumped on their wheel and matched their efforts up the climb. It was rather hard, but short. I finished 6th for the day and got the same time as 3rd – 5th place. The two riders that got away gained 37 seconds plus time bonuses, enough to move one of the riders into top 5 for GC.

I finished the weekend 6th overall on GC, only 1’51” down from the winning time of 8.01’02”.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100532015-07-30T21:49:16Z2015-07-30T21:49:16ZNeed Traxxas parts? AMain.com stocks parts for the popular Traxxas Slash, Slash 4×4, E-Revo, Rustler, Summit, Bandit and more! If you’re looking for parts for your Traxxas rig, simply click on the links below. AMain.com also stocks all of the popular Traxxas RTRs (ready to runs), as well as hop-up parts and accessories. Traxxas […]

]]>Need Traxxas parts? AMain.com stocks parts for the popular Traxxas Slash, Slash 4×4, E-Revo, Rustler, Summit, Bandit and more! If you’re looking for parts for your Traxxas rig, simply click on the links below. AMain.com also stocks all of the popular Traxxas RTRs (ready to runs), as well as hop-up parts and accessories.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=101302015-07-24T20:42:12Z2015-07-24T20:41:52ZAMain.com Cycling’s Corey Duran reports from the Cascade Classic in Bend, OR: Stage one of the cascade cycling classic was a great success. As a whole the team did well. Anthony put in a stellar effort and landed in 11th place. I ended in 58th place right in the middle of the pack, probably out […]

Stage one of the cascade cycling classic was a great success. As a whole the team did well. Anthony put in a stellar effort and landed in 11th place. I ended in 58th place right in the middle of the pack, probably out of GC contention but not more than a few minutes down. My focus is on the crit. The TT course was an out and back 16 mile flat to rolling smooth roads great course. I didn’t produce the numbers I wanted but still felt like I did a good job. For not racing TT’s often it was a foreign grove I had to fit. I finished feeling good like I had left it all out there, my avg was 27 mph and my avg power was 300w I was hoping for a 330ish # but I guess it is what it is. I’m feeling good for the RR tomorrow and even more so for the crit on Saturday.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=101212015-07-21T17:51:56Z2015-07-21T17:51:26ZAMain.com’s Kyle Warner has been having a solid year with podiums at just about every race he has entered in 2015. Warner won two stages at the recent National Championships, but unfortunately a crash prevented the overall win. Read his first hand report below: I just finished up the 2015 National Champs at Mammoth Mountain. […]

AMain.com’s Kyle Warner has been having a solid year with podiums at just about every race he has entered in 2015. Warner won two stages at the recent National Championships, but unfortunately a crash prevented the overall win. Read his first hand report below:

I just finished up the 2015 National Champs at Mammoth Mountain. This was actually the first year for the USAC national champs to include Enduro as a discipline so it was a pretty cool part of history to be a part of. Obviously the goal going into this race was to win and I truly felt confident in my ability to take the title this year. The course was two really technical 4-5 minute tracks and two long 10 minute tracks with some really fun technical sections.

The first track of the day was on the 4 minute pro DH course and with a 8 am start time it was definitely a shock to the system and I wanted to make sure to get down the track clean to start the day of right. I ended up riding a little too conservative and took 5th on the first stage 12 seconds off the win.

The next two stages were the longer 10 minute tracks with some decent pedaling and some really technical descending. I felt confident going into these two tracks and ended up taking the win on both stages despite passing 5 people on stage two and having two small crashes and some banged up shoulders on stage three.

Going into stage 4 i was in second place and 8 seconds off the lead and knew that i had to have a 110 percent run to claw back the time for the win. I pushed as hard as I possibly could the whole track and ended up making a really costly mistake pushing too hard on a turn right into a climb that lost me a ton of time. I was disappointed after that mistake but cruised down the rest of the course and went into third overall.

Not what I wanted but I left nothing on the table and was really happy with the effort I gave. I know where i lost the race and I know what I need to work on for the future but I did gain a lot of confidence after this weekend knowing that I can beat the best guys in the nation with imperfect runs. Next year I want the stars and bars and I am excited to carry this confidence into the remainder of the season.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=101172015-07-14T21:23:38Z2015-07-14T21:23:38ZAshland has always been one of my favorite venues. The trails are awesome, the scene is awesome, and racing is awesome. I actually did my first ever mountain bike race in Ashland in June 2009 so it has some good history for me. It seems that a lot of people feel the same way because […]

Ashland has always been one of my favorite venues. The trails are awesome, the scene is awesome, and racing is awesome. I actually did my first ever mountain bike race in Ashland in June 2009 so it has some good history for me. It seems that a lot of people feel the same way because the race was sold out with over 300 racers!

We rolled up on Friday morning pretty early and were able to check in to the hotel and head up the hill for a shuttle by 1 o’clock. The weather was looking pretty crazy with a super low cloud base but we didn’t think anything of it and just dropped in for a practice run on stages 3 and 4. The trails at the top were absolutely all time good as far as traction goes and the smile was already from ear to ear. As we dropped further down the mountain we started getting some light rain and then almost as if a switch turned on somewhere it started dumping! It was pretty funny, the trails immediately started flooding and i would have maybe been better off on a kayak haha. I haven’t had so much fun riding and getting sketchy everywhere in a long time.

We got to the bottom and it was still dumping so we decided to just head back and skip the 9 mile climb up to stages 1 and 2. Racing blind can be really fun so we just decided to wing it. It continued to rain off and on throughout Friday but with the decomposed granite in the dirt it was setting up to be perfect conditions for the race.

We woke up Saturday to blue skies and warm weather and I couldn’t wait to get on the trails! After some breakfast and a shuttle to the top of the mountain it was go time! They had us race stages 3 and 4 first and the conditions couldn’t have been better. I had two solid runs and was sitting in third after the lunch break. I felt good and was just trying to be smart since we have National Champs next weekend. The next two runs were blind (no practice) for me so i just decide to have fun and ride mellow to hold onto a podium spot. I had two smooth runs and ended up holding onto my third place behind local ripper Nathan Riddle and Old man Mark Weir. I had had a really great weekend and couldn’t thank the Ashland Mountain Adventure crew for putting on such and awesome event.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100992015-07-03T17:58:12Z2015-07-03T00:18:41ZThe ProTek R/C Starter Box Carrying Bag was just announced and already the interwebs are going crazy about the “innovative” bag (just Google it to see the attention it’s receiving). Here are just five examples from customers who were pleasantly surprised by the versatility of what appears to be more than just a bag and straps: No […]

]]>The ProTek R/C Starter Box Carrying Bag was just announced and already the interwebs are going crazy about the “innovative” bag (just Google it to see the attention it’s receiving). Here are just five examples from customers who were pleasantly surprised by the versatility of what appears to be more than just a bag and straps:

No Louis V., But Still a Nice Hand Bag

Need to pick up a few things on your way home from work. No problem, the ProTek R/C Starter Box Carrying Bag has you covered both in style and function.

Battery Caddy

Serious racers like to bring as many packs to the track as possible. The ProTek R/C Starter Box Carrying Bag will hold nearly a dozen batteries while allowing both arms to be free, thanks to over the shoulder straps.

Plane Fun In the Sun

Juggling a plane, radio and batteries to and from the car to the park can be a bear. Utilize the innovative ProTek R/C Starter Box Carrying Bag to take your favorite micro planes anywhere.

Lunch Time Sack

Stop using your favorite vintage lunchbox, it should be preserved because it’s worth some serious cash. Pack your favorite sando, beverage and lots more in the ProTek R/C Starter Box Carrying Bag and you’re good to go.

Snap, A Camera Bag Too!

Are you David LaChapelle at heart, but don’t own a Louis V. bag for your favorite point and shoot? Again, the ProTek R/C Starer Box Carrying Bag will hold your gear when you’re out capturing life’s precious moments.

**It does more than just carry an 1/8-scale starter box, get the bag that does it all!

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100962015-06-29T19:39:36Z2015-06-29T19:39:27ZLee Martin has been on terror lately winning the World’s Warmup (2WD) and capturing 4th overall in 4WD buggy with Yokomo’s B-MAX4 III. Martin was the fastest Yokomo driver at the World’s Warmup and here is his setup for the B-MAX4 III.

]]>Lee Martin has been on terror lately winning the World’s Warmup (2WD) and capturing 4th overall in 4WD buggy with Yokomo’s B-MAX4 III. Martin was the fastest Yokomo driver at the World’s Warmup and here is his setup for the B-MAX4 III.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100892015-06-22T18:00:18Z2015-06-22T18:00:04ZAMain.com’s Kyle Warner rode consistent all weekend to finish 5th overall in Hood River, Oregon at the NAET. Kyle talks about his rides below: This past weekend was the second stop of the NAET in Hood River, OR. I have always loved riding here and it was exciting to have a stacked field to race with […]

This past weekend was the second stop of the NAET in Hood River, OR. I have always loved riding here and it was exciting to have a stacked field to race with this year. The plan for this weekend was to be smart and get some good points going into the next race in Sun Valley. This race was one of three races in the NAET series where you can pick your best result of three and throw away the two lower scores counting towards the overall at the end of the season. Knowing this I just wanted to be smart and have some fun this weekend without feeling the pressure of a huge result.

I felt really comfortable all weekend and my Rift Zone 29er was working awesome for me. I tried to be smart with my practice days and not get to much riding in before the weekend because I knew this race was very dependent on leg power. We got one run down all 7 of the tracks in the first day of practice and a second run on all of the day one courses. I felt good going into the first day of the race on Saturday.

After a solid day one I was sitting in fourth overall and had cracked the top 3 on the first long stage of the day. I was fairly happy with how I was riding and just needed to clean up a few mental errors to be in the running for the Win. Going into day two I knew that I would have to ride hard to stay on the podium and I didn’t want to make any silly mistakes to throw it away. After a solid day two I ended up in 5th place overall and made the podium again! This season has been really interesting so far because I have been making a lot of silly mental mistakes that I know i can clean up but I have been consistently on the podium which is a good sign that everything is working in the right direction. My focus for this season is on the 7 straight weeks of racing we have to do the end of July to early September so I think that I am on target for being strong during that crucial part of the year. I am excited for the remainder of the year and I really appreciate all of your guys support!

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100832015-06-17T21:48:56Z2015-06-17T19:22:51ZEvery year the nation’s top R/C racers compete for the ROAR National Championships. This year, the ROAR 1/8 Fuel Off-Road Nationals are held at the world-famous Silver Dollar R/C Raceway. Sliver Dollar is a huge facility with a smooth, high-bite surface that is known for being consistent. Lap times will be in the 31-34 second range […]

Every year the nation’s top R/C racers compete for the ROAR National Championships. This year, the ROAR 1/8 Fuel Off-Road Nationals are held at the world-famous Silver Dollar R/C Raceway. Sliver Dollar is a huge facility with a smooth, high-bite surface that is known for being consistent. Lap times will be in the 31-34 second range and the temperatures during the race weekend will hover right around 1oo-degrees.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100732015-06-10T17:31:09Z2015-06-10T17:29:57ZBy: Kyle Warner Friday night in downtown Bend they had a movie showing of “The Rise Of Enduro” at the Tower Theater. It was an awesome event and had a showing of 250-300 people for the movie. After the showing Adam Craig and I sat in the lobby and signed movie poster for a bunch […]

Friday night in downtown Bend they had a movie showing of “The Rise Of Enduro” at the Tower Theater. It was an awesome event and had a showing of 250-300 people for the movie. After the showing Adam Craig and I sat in the lobby and signed movie poster for a bunch of people from all ages. It was pretty awesome we would have a 5 year old come up and ask for an autograph and next in line would be a 50 year old pioneer of mountain biking who wanted one for the garage. It was a great success and everyone left happy.

Sunday was race day and I was really excited to ride. I love the high speed tracks of Bend and felt like i was riding really well in practice the day before. We had 4 stages over roughly 25 miles and it was 90+ degrees so hydration and snacking were key. I felt like i did a really good job off the bike on race day to give myself a shot during the stages. I rode really well on all of the stages and tried to be smart about the risks I took due to it not being an important event for my overall NAET campaign this season. When all was said and done I ended the day in 5th place overall and got on the podium with some great competition. I know I am riding well enough to win right now so 5th was good but i have my sights set higher for the more important overall events this year. My bike was working awesome all weekend and my riding gear / supplement program was perfect! Thank you for all the support this year.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100482015-06-08T18:44:10Z2015-06-08T18:44:10ZAMain.com Cycling’s Fergus Liam recently hit the track after nearly a year off to assess his current speed and what he needed to work on. In his most recent blog post he talks about the differences in being a roadie and trackie. By: Fergus Liam I love track racing. As a messenger, my preferred tool […]

AMain.com Cycling’s Fergus Liam recently hit the track after nearly a year off to assess his current speed and what he needed to work on. In his most recent blog post he talks about the differences in being a roadie and trackie.

By: Fergus Liam

I love track racing. As a messenger, my preferred tool was a track bike; first an ’85 Fuji Track Pro, then a few KHS Aero Tracks (I was lucky enough to own 3 of these). I began racing on my Aero Track, and fell in love with riding in circles in my underwear.

I hadn’t raced since last season- maybe August. I was unsure of my track legs, but knew I had enough roadie endurance to stick in anything that went. Rather than explain each event in detail, I’ll use this forum as a means to discuss the inherent differences between roadies and trackies. Not always is a good roadie a good trackie, and vice versa. However, the skills developed in each realm benefit the other immensely.

Having a good base in road cycling means that riding at a high tempo in any given gear (we can discuss gear choice in a later article) is accomplishable. One could easily look at a scratch race as a as a time-trial of sorts, if there is no attacking. What separates a good track rider from road rider is, almost always, leg speed. Whereas a roadie might be comfortable spinning 100rpm and sprint at about 120rpm, a good track rider can easily cruise at 120rpm and sprint at or above 150rpm. One of my peaks saw me easily maintain 160+ rpm in a keirin. High cadence means faster accelerations, which means quicker attacks, which means creating a gap and distance your competitor has to cover in an equally quick amount of time. Roadies I’ve seen that come to the track usually boast such-and-such watts and whatever average speeds, but once on a track bike, their accelerations are stale and easily coverable. Frankly, this is what I was afraid of happening to me with my roadies legs and fitness- turns out I was right. My leg speed was not quite what I wanted.

Furthermore, the respect one must have for the track is great! It takes an exceptional fitness for a rider to simply ride away from the field- most roadies who come to the track think they can do this. The truth is, a solo break rarely works. Come 1k into a break, the lactic acid builds and the anchor drops. To push through this and dump your lactic load takes incredible fitness. However, you have to figure, if you’re going through this, so are your competitors. Knowing when to put in an attack and how long you can hold it it crucial. I put in a couple digs in the scratch races (I can explain the races in a later article. For now, think of a scratch race as a crit.) to see what my body could do. I went the first time with 10 to go- about 3k. I held out for 3 laps before getting caught and reabsorbed into the group. I attacked again with 3 to go. Reference my lack of leg speed from before, and about 150 meters into my attack, I had the field on my wheel. I sat up and waited for the sprint. Being early in my season, and looking for this night of racing as fitness building, I looked to this first race as a learning experience and find out what I needed to work on.

The points race is a culmination of all these aforementioned skills put to the test. A good points racer can attack repeatedly and recover quickly, putting not only hurt upon their opponents, but scoring points and moving up on the board. Typically a points racer will rider a smaller gear than scratch, but for the sake of time and because of laziness, I kept my 92″ gear. While I could match accelerations, pushing that big of a gear all night long wore me out. Out of desperation, I put in an attack after the penultimate sprint to try and get some much needed points. I held off the field for 4 brutal laps, taking the final sprint. I paid for it the next day with some of the sorest legs I’ve ever experienced. However, I was elated for having returned to the track.

Shown here, I am covering a move in the scratch race with John Simmons glued to my wheel. I’ve had the pleasure of learning quite a bit from this man, and always I feel like there is more to learn from him.

Next time, I’ll discuss the types of races that occur at Hellyer, and which I love the most.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100392015-06-08T18:35:31Z2015-06-08T18:35:31ZBy: Ryan Oakes Having missed this race its inaugural year, I’d heard plenty of stories about what was to come. With 3 other teammates, we turned the trip into a camping/riding adventure. Coming off a broken clavicle, I’m still getting my fitness back and hadn’t put in a ride longer than 3 hours since my […]

Having missed this race its inaugural year, I’d heard plenty of stories about what was to come. With 3 other teammates, we turned the trip into a camping/riding adventure. Coming off a broken clavicle, I’m still getting my fitness back and hadn’t put in a ride longer than 3 hours since my crash 7 weeks prior. This was going to be a tough day. My goal was to “race” as long as I could, then cruise in. Turns out, this was less time than I’d anticipated as big puddles caused slowing and split the group. I was well beyond threshold, chasing less than 10 miles in. We hit the first climb and the altitude took me. I was dying and people were flying by me. At this point, I started to take it easy. I was in good spirits and planned to pedal in solo, but it wasn’t long before teammate Corey had caught up to me. The two of us decided to keep it steady and knock it out. We rolled a good tempo, keeping our stops limited and short. We passed a few but mostly were passed. It was no bother to us as we were loving the scenery of the alpine valleys. It is gorgeous up there! Eventually, we joined up with a couple buddies and finished the ride with them. Along the way, I ate 2 quesadillas, a bratwurst, a shot of fireball, half a pale ale, some skittles and a bacon and steak wrapped pickle! 7 hours later, we were done. That said I had an epic day! I’ll be back next year undoubtable.

By: Brennan Percy

Never give up! When you are racing 100 miles of gravel and dirt roads in the Sierra Nevada mountains anything can happen. If you keep those two points in mind you might just finish better than you thought or even end up on the podium.

We started this beautiful race on the banks of Lake Davis. The Pro category rolled out at a leisurely pace for the first few miles of pavement and gravel before we hit the first dirt section. As soon as our tires where on dirt the attacks started. We ripped through mud, puddles, and dirt chasing a couple of attacks before the first climb, then we hit the first hill of the day. A lead group formed of about 10 riders. I held onto the back for a minute but popped about halfway up the climb. Really? So soon? I was so bummed watching the group roll away. I had been day dreaming about this race for weeks and now 10 miles in I was watching the top riders disappear. I recovered for a second then remember, this is a long, crazy ride. Anything can happen. So I put my head down and started to dig.

By the time we came off the descent I had picked up a couple riders including team mate Anthony Ferretti. We worked well together for the next few miles and into the next climb. We went over the next climb together but the descent split this little group up. I was on a mission so there was no taking the descents easy. Plus I was running a new pair of WTB Nano 700×40 tires and I had to see what they could handle. Anthony and I destroyed the ripper descent all the way to the next valley. As we crossed the valley we caught a few more riders and formed another little group. But that group quickly disappeared as half the group stopped at a sag stop and half of us continued to chase.

At this point, I’m thinking that a top 10 placing is still possible. Then we passed four riders from the lead group on the side of the road. It looked like one of them had hit the deck and was holding his shoulder. Everyone gave us the thumbs up so we kept rolling. Wait…those guys on the side of the road were heavy hitters and now they’re out. Now, I was starting to think about top 5 finish with 50 miles still to go. Over the next couple of miles the group I was in fell apart and I was left solo again to ride tempo.

At mile 65-ish I hit the Paul Components sag stop just as 2 riders were getting back on their bikes. There was no time to fill bottles or grab food if I was going to catch these two. I grabbed a Coors Lite, pounded in on the bike and chased onto these guys wheels. They informed me that only three riders were up the road. Cody Keiser was closest at about 30 seconds. Right away I could tell these guys weren’t into chasing. Just before the base of the last climb we caught Cody. I continued to roll tempo into the climb, but no one else seemed into it so I upped the tempo and rolled away.

Somehow, after getting dropped on the first climb, I found myself on the final 10 mile-long climb in third place. I have been in several breakaways this season that have been caught just before the finish line. That uneasy feeling of being chased down just when you think it’s over has been burned into my mind. There were several spots where I wanted to get off the bike and walk on the climb. It would pitch, then turn a bend, then pitch a little more. It was hot and never ending. For about 45 min I went to a pretty dark place. Then I rounded a bend and heard some volunteers cheers. Those were the greatest sounds I’ve ever heard. I was finally at the top. Not knowing where the chasers or the leaders were was unnerving so there was no time for a final sag stop. Again, it was just a Coors for the ride and I was off.

Now there was just 15 miles of endless rolling gravel to the finish line. Again, I had no idea where anyone was at. Were they right behind me? Was 1st and 2nd just in front of me? The only thing I could do was dig and just try to get to the finish. Eventually the lake came into view. Then I could see the cars parked on the side of the road. Finally, I hit the last turn and crossed the finish line. It had been a grueling long day but by never giving up I had salvaged a third place finish. Tobin Ortenblad claimed first and Ben Berden took second a few minutes ahead of me. Not bad company to be on a podium with.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100322015-06-08T18:31:43Z2015-06-08T18:31:43ZGoing into this race, I had one plan: Get a result in the P12, and make some money in the 2/3. I figured the P12 would be full of local heavies trying to make some monies, so I hedged my bets on being able to out sprint them time after time and decided to try […]

Going into this race, I had one plan: Get a result in the P12, and make some money in the 2/3. I figured the P12 would be full of local heavies trying to make some monies, so I hedged my bets on being able to out sprint them time after time and decided to try and get a result out of the scramble that would ensure in the aftermath of the race. If you aren’t familiar with Dash For Cash, it’s basically a points race on the road: every lap after the whistle is worth $10. If you’re sneaky, you sit on wheels, out sprint your leadout and make money. Bob, being my only teammate, was on board for this plan.

P/1/2

Early into the race I found myself towards the front. 10 mins into the 75 minute race and I found myself on the front going into turn 4. I came out of the corner and hit the pedals hard. Already, I took a $10 prime. This felt good. I knew it was too early to make any moves stick, so I settled back into the field. I let the laps tick by, every now and then trying my hand at a couple moves, but knew nothing would stick. About 35mins in, I found Bob and assessed the race. I advised him to follow Willie, as Willie’s typical move is to go late in the race and power away. Just the kind of thing Bob is strongest at. I decided to try and follow Randy. As the lap cards started to pop up, the field got sloppy and chaotic. I lost Randy’s wheel and fought to find it again. Suddenly the pace was high again, and we were at 3 to go. I struggled to make up places, desperately trying to get in that top 15. Bell lap saw the field go bananas. Strung out, and choppy in the turns meant keeping placement was difficult. Hitting turn 4 I sat up, knowing I couldn’t make up the kind of ground I wanted for a decent result.

2/3

Going into this race, I wanted to be aggressive. If I were to make anything, I needed to not fall further back than 7th. From the whistle I was on the front. The first few sprints I contested, but didn’t score. A Squadra rider went up the road and stayed about 10-15 seconds up on the field. With the field seeming willing to let the money be taken by this lone rider, I jumped hard to try and bridge across. A small collection of riders came with me with 4 of us chasing, we were able to make it up to the lone rider. Immediately one person pops, and we are 4 with a gap of 15-20 seconds. I make the call: I say, are were going to attack each other for the money, or work together and split the earnings after we enjoy a solid result. We all vote for the latter and dig in, immediately building our gap. Someone on the side called out splits: 20, then 30, 45, 1 minute! I looked back on the course and saw we had a solid half lap on the 0.9 mile course! Our 4th rider stops taking pulls saying he’s cracked and will settle for 4th. We keep charging, taking the primes, and now watching the lap cards tick by. My legs are screaming to me, but every time a lap card ticks off I find renewed energy to push on. Going into bell lap, I give a quick pat and thanks to my breakaway mates. We knew what was next. Between turns 3 and 4, we started marking each other. I sat third and perfect wheel. With my legs seizing every time I got out of the saddle, I knew I couldn’t go head to head. I open up a small gap, shifted down and jumped, swinging wide and hitting turn 4 first. In the saddle I dig deep to keep my legs turning. I dropped a gear and felt the fire in my legs, screaming crying for me to stop, but I pushed. I held off the other two until 100 meters from the finish when they came around me, taking first and second. While a win would have sent me over the moon, I was more than happy to accept 3rd and split the earnings with these two other classy riders.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100262015-06-08T18:23:34Z2015-06-08T18:23:34ZI drove to LA on Friday to attend the Mudfoot Dirty Fundo. The Fundo was advertised as 100mi with 14k feet of climbing and 20mi of dirt. Why I agreed to do this, I’m still not sure. Something about the chimichanga at the end of tunnel, IDK. I ended up doing 112 miles with 13k […]

I drove to LA on Friday to attend the Mudfoot Dirty Fundo. The Fundo was advertised as 100mi with 14k feet of climbing and 20mi of dirt. Why I agreed to do this, I’m still not sure. Something about the chimichanga at the end of tunnel, IDK. I ended up doing 112 miles with 13k feet of climbing instead, not my ideal Saturday. While there was a crit in LA on Memorial Day, I decided enough LA was enough and came up to Morgan Hill for the Memorial Day Classic.

Here’s the thing: I knew how this race would play out to a T. With the way Mike’s has been riding and protecting Garrett for the sprints and the way H24 was punching to derail the Mikes train, I knew this race was going to be predictable. Frankly, I didn’t know I had a teammate in Bob there until a couple minutes before the race. Lining up, I saw The aforementioned culprits, CoreTechs, Cliff Bar, and Squadra. I knew Cliff Bar would be classy and hit until a break stuck or line it up in the final few. Squadra would do their same thing of have a bunch of people in a field and not do anything cohesive. And CoreTechs would try to get Ryan Moore or the ginger fella in a break and block like a bunch of jerks or let Randy sprint it out for 3rd again. Bob and I assessed our situation, and let it happen like this: first 20 mins will be fast, let the big teams duke it out, and wait for the moves. Ok! BREAK!

Sure enough, at the whistle the field was strung out. I sat in, having not ridden solidly for almost 2 weeks, and just completed a ridiculous amount of climbing in one day. However, 10 mins in, I saw a small well represented group get a gap. Like a dog chasing a bone, I jumped up to it. We rotated for half a lap before the group came through. Stupid. I knew better. I waited some more. The field was a little edgy, and while ‘rubbing is racing’ some of my comrades were a little more rubby than racy. After move after move went and got reeled back, I saw a group of about 6-8 up the road; it was around 30ins in. Maybe 15-20 seconds. Represented was CoreTechs, Mikes and H24, on the front of the peloton was a waning Metro rider with a CoreTechs rider sitting on their wheel sucking the life out of them. We were losing ground. After the debacle at Red Kite, I would have none of this. I grabbed Bob and went to the front. I put my head down and proceeded to drag the entire field up to the break. I took Bob within 10 meters and let him do the rest. Had I not done that, the break would have stuck and we would be reading a much different story.

I sat in the back until lap cards shown 14 to go. I fished around for Bob to reassess our situation. At 10 to go a nasty crash on the back stretch happened, upsetting the flow of the field. I found Bob in front of the crash and had chat. He was feeling worked, I nodded and we decided to fend for ourselves. I waited for the trains to line up. Sure enough, at 3 to go Cliff Bar massed up, with H24 on the front setting a high pace. I saw Mike’s protecting Garrett in the slipstream of the field. I nestled in behind them. After a little bump and grind with some others, I found myself sitting 20th wheel going into bell lap. Out of turn 2 and into the back stretch I moved up to 15th. A couple of riders ahead of me tangled wheels, and I thought I was going to witness a near death experience. I moved past them and took a clean line into turn four. The sprinters were already launching. I didn’t have the pop to jump into the sprint, but I had the motor to hang in and swallow up any lead out men. I ended up taking 12th from the bunch. Not quite the top 10 I was hoping for, but a decent showing for having navigated the last lap alone amongst teams with full rosters.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100152015-06-04T21:10:00Z2015-06-04T21:10:00ZBy: Drew “DreMo” Moller This past weekend was the SWorkz Challenge / ROAR Nats Warm-up held in Chico, California at the World-Famous Silver Dollar R/C Raceway. The race started out with a full day of practice on Friday which allowed me to do some testing. After making some adjustments to my cars they felt awesome. […]

This past weekend was the SWorkz Challenge / ROAR Nats Warm-up held in Chico, California at the World-Famous Silver Dollar R/C Raceway. The race started out with a full day of practice on Friday which allowed me to do some testing. After making some adjustments to my cars they felt awesome. On Saturday there were three rounds of qualifying. In buggy I told myself to drive smooth and consistent as the track was very easy to overdrive. This strategy served me well as I went out and got 2nd overall in the first two qualifiers. In the last round I wanted to try some things so I changed my car and it did not improve the cars handling so I went back to what I originally had. In truggy I used the same strategy and got the same result. I changed some stuff on my car and it improved. In the first two rounds I would end up second overall. For the last round I changed my front shock oil and it improved my steering a lot. I would go onto battle for the TQ but was edged out right at the end of the race. Heading into the mains I freshened up my cars and was ready to race. In the start of the 45 minute buggy final I got off to a clean start and followed Ty for the first couple of minutes. We would swap positions back and forth for the first 25 minutes. From that point on Ty would stretch his lead running one less pit stop. I would settle in and would go on to finish 2nd. In the 30 minute truck main I got off to a shaky start as I would lose a few positions. By the first pit stop I would catch up to 2nd place and make a pass. Although I would charge hard it would not be enough, I would settle for second. Overall it was awesome weekend of racing and am looking forward to the nationals. I would like to thank all of my sponsors for all of their help and support. HB/HPI Racing, Proline, LRP, Ko Propo, amain.com, VP Powermaster, Avid, Up Grade R/C, 110% Racing, and Lunsford

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100082015-06-04T20:57:23Z2015-06-04T20:57:23ZBy: Lee Martin This past weekend was the 2nd Annual Mugen Challenge race held in Reims, France. The track is quite open and fast on a uniquely slick chalk surface which requires good power and the way that power is delivered needs to be smooth. The Protek Samurai excelled in both these areas providing a […]

This past weekend was the 2nd Annual Mugen Challenge race held in Reims, France. The track is quite open and fast on a uniquely slick chalk surface which requires good power and the way that power is delivered needs to be smooth. The Protek Samurai excelled in both these areas providing a great amount of horse power while maintaining drivability and control. The power unit ran faultlessly through the finals using my Protek 2090 pipe combo gave me to confidence to take a flag to flag victory!

It was a great race for all involved, a great family atmosphere, fantastic people and a fantastic track. I cant wait to go again next year!

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=100012015-06-04T20:42:58Z2015-06-04T20:42:58ZBy: Ty Tessmann This past weekend we attended the Sworkz challenge at the beautiful Silver Dollar Raceway in Chico, CA. This is one of the most amazing RC facilities in the world, A Main Hobbies and Kevin Jelich did an awesome job in preparing the facility and the track. This race attracted over 200 entries, […]

This past weekend we attended the Sworkz challenge at the beautiful Silver Dollar Raceway in Chico, CA.This is one of the most amazing RC facilities in the world, A Main Hobbies and Kevin Jelich did an awesome job in preparing the facility and the track.This race attracted over 200 entries, the track surface itself was preparedin a way that gave the track it’s own unique personality, although the surface was very smooth it was very abrasive and traction varied from medium to high grip.

Friday was open practice which allowed us to get our D815 and D8TTE dialed into the track and surface.Saturday we had 3 rounds of qualifying, the first 2 rounds in qualifying went flawlessly and I was able to take TQ honors in both Pro buggy and Pro truck.In Q3 for both classes we decided to try different setups and tires to test and prepare for the upcomingnationals.Sunday the mains were run, this gave us all day to work on the cars, while keeping an eye on the track to see if any changes to our setup would be needed.The buggy main came first, even though I started on pole, Drew Moller and Ryan Lutz would make the race very interesting, both of them taking over the lead at different points of the race, but in the end I was able to make a gap and take the win in the 45 minute A main. The truggy main went considerably better, I was able to slowly pull away from the pack and take the win.Once again all of my equipment performed flawlessly, I would like to thank all of my sponsors who make this possible.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=99942015-05-28T20:36:19Z2015-05-28T20:35:42ZBy: Ryan Oakes Eating before a ride You’ve probably heard the phrase “carb-loading” in reference to the type of food someone eats before a big event. I often hear of people eating big pasta dinners the night before a big ride. Some people eat big bowls of oatmeal the morning of an event and some […]

You’ve probably heard the phrase “carb-loading” in reference to the type of food someone eats before a big event. I often hear of people eating big pasta dinners the night before a big ride. Some people eat big bowls of oatmeal the morning of an event and some hardly eat at all. If you read the label on a “Gu” packet, it will tell you to start eating their gels 45 minutes prior to your ride. Weight lifters often take a “preload” or “pre-workout” supplement prior to hitting the gym. But what’s the best practice for your training and for your events?

The thing to remember is that everyone is different, every event is different and it’s rare to get it perfect every time. But, planning and practice will get you close. There are three things, in my opinion, that should be thought about before riding: What you are eating, the quantity of it and your timing or when you eat.

What to eat

Eating a larger, carb-heavy meal (pastas, rice, breads, grains, beans, potatoes, etc) isn’t a bad idea, but there is no need to go overboard. “Binging” on any type of food isn’t good for you and holds no value. In fact, it could even be to your digestive detriment. Eat a large, balance, satisfying meal before a big event and eat like normal prior to a training day. Energy can be derived from fats, protein or carbohydrates, but some are “burned” more slowly than others. A good way to think about it is like making a camp fire. If you want to get the fire going, you use kindling for quick easy flame (like simple carbs or sugars). Softwoods burn easily, but don’t last very long (like complex carbs such as grains). Hardwoods take a lot of time to light, but can burn for hours and hours. They don’t blaze, but keep the fire going (like fats and proteins). Leading up to an event or training ride, asses what you will be doing. Is it short or long? Is it high intensity or low intensity? If it’s high intensity or short, look to eating with more of a carb/simple carb focus. If it’s a longer distance or low intensity event, balance your carbs a bit more with fats and proteins.

How much to eat

One of the most variable areas is how much you should eat. This will depend on your age, activity level, gender, how efficiently your body uses the food you give it and length of event. This will take a lot of practice to figure out what you need as an individual, but start by trying to eat more often. Snack lots and regularly leading up to you event or training as opposed to trying to get in meals just before. Obviously, you need the meals, but big meals just before your ride could cause you troubles with digestion. Instead, eat smaller meals more often and snack often.

Timing

There is delicate balance of how much you eat and what you eat in proximity to when you ride. My rule of thumb is to be done with my meals 2 hours before riding. Due to this, morning events can be difficult. If I won’t have an opportunity to eat a meal in the morning 2 hour prior to my ride, I will eat a little larger the night before, eat light that morning and bring extra food on the ride. Once into the 2 hour pre-ride window, I make sure I still eat snacks up to 1 hour before I ride. For me, ½ of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is my limit. A Clif Bar or another energy bar will also do the trick. Starting an event hungry is not a good idea, but going in overloaded is almost worse. This will take practice to figure out a system. Although on shorter rides (1.5 hours or less) you won’t likely need take food with you if you’ve timed your meals correctly, anything longer will probably require you to bring food to eat no matter what you’ve eaten before.

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=99772015-05-27T16:27:46Z2015-05-27T15:21:32ZAMain.com’s Kyle Warner has been training at Chico, California’s TNT Athletic Performance Center to get stronger for the 2015 season. Warner will be defending his NAET (North American Enduro Tour) Championship and looks to compete in the EWS in 2016. In this quick clip he is shredding some trails in the Sierras. Enjoy!

]]>AMain.com’s Kyle Warner has been training at Chico, California’s TNT Athletic Performance Center to get stronger for the 2015 season. Warner will be defending his NAET (North American Enduro Tour) Championship and looks to compete in the EWS in 2016. In this quick clip he is shredding some trails in the Sierras. Enjoy!

]]>0jasonshttp://blog.amain.com/?p=99692015-05-27T00:36:57Z2015-05-27T00:30:10Z Folsom Crit May 23, 2015 By: Ryan Oakes Having stayed the night prior at my parents new place in Cameron Park, I decided the 45 minute bike ride down to the race would be an ideal warm-up. Unfortunately, I chose to take an alternative route that “felt” more direct and possibly faster than my […]

Having stayed the night prior at my parents new place in Cameron Park, I decided the 45 minute bike ride down to the race would be an ideal warm-up. Unfortunately, I chose to take an alternative route that “felt” more direct and possibly faster than my usual one. Turns out, it was about 20 minutes slower and it put me there just as registration was closing for the Cat 2/Cat 3 mixed race. I entered the race both nervous and excited. This was my first real race back from having broken my clavicle in a crash 7 weeks prior. I knew I wasn’t going to have top-end fitness, but I’d been training diligently and knew I could help my team. We had 5 riders start: Anthony, Brennan, Corey, Bob and myself. Our plan was to be attentive and playful. We would go with moves without needing to instigate or push them clear. We wanted a sprint and would leadout Corey. Expecting a sprint, the race was surprisingly active and exciting. I could only figure that there must have been a lot of non-sprinter-types in the race. Having never seen a break stick on this course, I was excited that the race was so perky. The team all rode toward the front and shared in the work of going with moves, and chasing down attacks. I was defiantly feeling it, but was enjoying myself so much I could barely take the smile off my face! Roughly half way through the race, there was a lull and Anthony used the opportunity to get up the road. Before we knew it, his group was 5 with 2 in the gap. Laps later, they had joined up and become 7. Knowing that if the break were to stick, Anthony would win, we valued the move. It took some of the risk out of a leadout and would let us race for the field sprint. It also took all of the pressure off the team and forced other non-represented teams to work. However, the break was fairly well qualified and the gap started to open. It got to 20 seconds, and on this fast course, that was a lot. At 20 seconds it held for laps and laps. I was beginning to think the impossibility of a successful break was possible. Meanwhile in the field, A Victory Velo fellow picked the worst possible time to check on the race behind him. Going into turn 2, he looked over his shoulder as the guy in front of him leaned into the turn. His bike was swept out from underneath him and I nearly panicked as I was sitting just off his wheel. Fortunately for me, his crash sent him continuing on his forward trajectory and I leaned hard through the turn to avoid him with barely a touch of brake needed. Back in the breakaway, they were obviously working well together and were represented well enough that no other teams felt the need to chase. We rolled tempo at the front and took the slow lines in the turns until we saw lap cards at 9-to-go. That’s when everything changed. The Data Driven Athlete team swarmed the front, audibly realizing that they hadn’t put a single man in the move. They had 9 laps to burn 6 guys who chased sacrificially. There wasn’t much we could to do to stop their march on the break. The 4 of us in the field slotted in behind the DDA train knowing it would be a fast hard chase and that if they brought the break back, we would need to be at the front to set-up our train. If they couldn’t bring it back, they would be leading us out for the field sprint. Their chase hurt. They burned one man, then the next, then the next. It was a quality coordinated effort, but it was killing them. The gap stayed steady for a moment and then began to shrink to 20 seconds, then 18 and soon only 5. Coming into 2-laps-to-go, the break was within reach and DDA let off the gas. This was extremely disappointing and was tactically terrible. We were now lined up at the front way too early. We couldn’t keep the pace on hot enough to stay at the front for 2 laps and didn’t want to. Fortunately, Anthony had the foresight to recognize this lull and the danger it caused us and he attacked. Now sitting first wheel, followed by Brennan, then Bob, then Corey, I jumped onto the opportunistic chasers of Anthony. The two overtook him, and kept on the gas hoping to catch us out, but I kept the tempo high and steady to reel them back. As we got to them, I was shocked to find Anthony, “the energizer bunny,” was still alive and had something left. He was coming up my right side to give me whatever juice he had remaining. We would need it to get through this last lap and a half. I didn’t expect much from him, but I would take what he could give and kept encouraging him. “A little faster, Anthony! Give me some more, bud! Keeping it going, keep it up! Get me to the turn, just get me to the turn!” And he got me to the turn, then took me through the turn into the final and kept on going! He wouldn’t quit and took me to the next turn before he really started to drop speed. I thanked him and cut around him and put the pedal to the floor to get us back up to speed and keep us safe and at the front with only ¾ of a lap to go. With Brennan in tow, all I could trust was his instructions, hopefully pass along from Corey. He encouraged me and kept me going. With the pace needing to be high and the intensity building behind, my pull would not be as long as Anthony’s. I pushed and pushed and felt myself fading when I heard a yell, “GO! Go now! Go, go go!” Brenan surged around me, picking up the speed yet again. I wouldn’t be able to see the finish from my position, but I could see them enter the last turn. As Brennan kept it going, he pulled through that last right-hander, dropping-off whoever was in tow at 300 meters to the finish line. It was nearly guaranteed that the person on his wheel would win. As I watched and smiled, satisfied with how coordinated we’d been, I noticed that Corey and Bob were not the men following Brennan through the turn. I couldn’t be sure as I was a bit brain-dead and they were pretty far away, but it looked like we’d missed it. Sure enough, we had. Corey explained that he wasn’t the one that yelled to “go” and we went sooner than he’d expected. With the pace too slow and his position being heavily contested, the surge caused chaos that found he and Bob losing Brennan’s wheel. I was extremely proud of how we raced and how well we all communicated. Our coordination was the best possible giving the situation we found ourselves in. If we hadn’t faced such a strong team like Data Driven Athlete, Anthony probably would have won out of the break. If we’d had a little fresher legs in the lead out (Anthony was on his 3rd or 4th wind and I haven’t raced in 7 weeks), we probably would have kept it fast enough to protect Corey.